A Fire Ban is now in place for the Province of Alberta, including the Whitecourt Forest Area. All existing Fire Permits are canceled and no new fire permits will be issued.
Off-Highway Vehicle Use Not Recommended
It is recommended to not ride your off-highway vehicle (OHV) until the wildfire hazard reduces. An OHVs exhaust system gets extremely hot, reaching temperatures of over 200 degrees Celsius. Debris caught in the system will become super-heated, fall to the ground and can start a wildfire.
Please consider postponing all off-highway vehicle use until conditions improve. If you have to use the OHV, before, during and after your ride, stop frequently and remove the build-up of grass, muskeg and other vegetation from your machine. Check the exhaust and muffler, under the seat, in wheel wells, around the engine and the winch system (see diagram).
Are You Working With an Off-Highway Vehicle or Heavy Equipment?
Under the extreme wildfire hazard and current Fire Restriction, there are steps you can take in your day-to-day operations to help prevent a wildfire:
Off-highway vehicle (OHV) Use
- Defer any non-essential use.
- If you have to use the OHV, before, during and after your ride, stop frequently and remove the build-up of grass, muskeg and other vegetation from your machine. Check the exhaust and muffler, under the seat, in wheel wells, around the engine and the winch system (see diagram).
- Carry firefighting equipment with you at all times – water, shovel and a bucket.
Heavy Equipment
- Defer any non-essential use.
- Use an early shift configuration where operations stop at noon, before the heat of the day and the peak wildfire-burning period.
- Establish “Active Monitoring” practices – once you have completed operations with heavy equipment, stay in place and watch for flames or smoke for at least 30 minutes. This will help you make sure that the work didn’t start a wildfire.
- If you have specific questions on this, please call our Industry Liaison at 780-779-7321
Wildfire Hazard
Warm temperatures and lack of rain, keep the wildfire hazard at EXTREME for the Whitecourt Forest Area. A wildfire can start quickly and spread extremely fast. This type of wildfire will burn intensely and will spread fast making it difficult and dangerous to bring under control.
Today, we are expected to reach a high of 16 degrees Celsius, wind will be north west in direction at 20 kilometres per hour, gusting up to 35 kilometres per hour. Rain is not in the forecast for today or tomorrow.
A significant amount of water on the ground is needed for the forest to recover from the current dry conditions. Areas of dry grass and branches pose the most significant risk of wildfire. Wildfire in these areas will start easily and spread quickly, making it very hard for firefighters to control.
Wildfire Update
Whitecourt Forest Area Update | May 5 @ 8:00 p.m.
Currenlty, there are no wildfires in the Whitecourt Forest Area.
Since April 1, 2016 there have been 18 wildfires in the Whitecourt Forest Area that have burned 9.15 hectares.
Provincial Update | May 5 @ 10:00 a.m.
- In the last 24 hours there have been 26 new wildfires in the Forest Protection Area of Alberta.
- There are currently 46 wildfires in the Forest Protection Area of Alberta. Six are considered out of control, 11 are being held, 22 are under control and seven have been turned over to the responsible party.
- Since April 1, 2016, Alberta has recorded 360 wildfires in the Forest Protection Area that have burned a total of 10,575.08 hectares (numbers do not reflect estimated wildfire size for MWF-009).
- In the last 24 hours, Agriculture and Forestry provided assistance with four wildfires outside Alberta’s Forest Protection Area.
- Agriculture and Forestry is currently assisting with five wildfires outside the Forest Protection Area.
For more information about wildfires across the province visit wildfire.alberta.ca.
Unless conditions change, you can expect your next update on May 6, 2016.
